Vehicle leveling using handheld mobile device

ABSTRACT

A system and method for leveling a selected surface of a structure. The system includes a handheld mobile device and a platform leveling assembly (PLA) supportable on a structure to be leveled. The PLA includes a PLA controller and a PLA receiver communicatively coupled with the PLA controller. The handheld mobile device includes a tilt sensor configured to sense an attitude of a selected surface on which the handheld mobile device is placed; an output device configured to provide an indication to a user; an input device configured to receive input from the user; a transmitter configured to send wireless signals to the PLA receiver; and a mobile device controller communicatively coupled to the tilt sensor, the output device, the input device, and the transmitter and configured to cause the output device to provide an indication of the sensed attitude of the selected surface.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority in U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/844,200 filed May 7, 2019, which is incorporated herein inits entirety, by reference.

FIELD

This application relates generally to leveling a surface and, moreparticularly, to leveling a selected surface of a vehicle such as arecreational vehicle (RV).

BACKGROUND

Certain vehicles, such as recreational vehicles (RVs), include levelingdevices, such as electronically-controlled jacks, that are operable soas to level a surface or structure of the RV, such as the floor. Currentsystems rely on the use of integrated tilt sensors to detect platformlevel. A “zero-point” of the vehicle or other structure, which is theattitude or angle of the tilt sensor relative to true earth level thatthe leveling system will return to in order to level a desired portionof the structure, is typically programmed prior to first use of thesystem and, in some instances, may be programmed by a consumer, such asan owner or lessee, after manufacture and sale. This zero point is oftenset by placing a bubble level on a selected surface in the RV platform(e.g., kitchen counter, floor) that an end user would desire to beleveled in future automatic leveling operations, and then adjusting theleveling devices until the bubble level indicates the selected surfaceis level. Tilt sensor signal values representing the attitude of thetilt sensor when the bubble level indicates that the selected surface islevel, are then saved as zero-point values to be referenced in futureautomatic leveling operations.

SUMMARY

A system is provided for leveling a selected surface of a structure. Thesystem includes: a handheld mobile device and a platform levelingassembly (PLA) supportable on a structure to be leveled. The PLA mayinclude a PLA controller and a PLA receiver communicatively coupled withthe PLA controller. The PLA controller is communicatively couplable withone or more leveling devices and configured to send, to the levelingdevice(s), leveling device commands that, when received by the levelingdevice(s), cause the leveling device(s) to change the attitude of thestructure. The PLA receiver is configured to receive wireless signalscarrying a leveling device instruction and to send the leveling deviceinstruction to the PLA controller. The handheld mobile device mayinclude: a tilt sensor configured to sense an attitude of a selectedsurface on which the handheld mobile device is placed; an output deviceconfigured to provide an indication to a user; an input deviceconfigured to receive input from the user; a transmitter configured tosend wireless signals to the PLA receiver; and a mobile devicecontroller communicatively coupled to the tilt sensor, the outputdevice, the input device, and the transmitter and configured to causethe output device to provide an indication of the sensed attitude of theselected surface. The mobile device controller is further configured toreceive the leveling device instruction from the user via the inputdevice and to cause the transmitter to wirelessly transmit a levelingdevice instruction signal having the leveling device instruction to thePLA controller so that, when the PLA controller receives the levelingdevice instruction signal via the PLA receiver, the PLA controllercauses the one or more leveling devices to operate according to theleveling device instruction.

There is also provided a method of leveling a selected surface of astructure. The method is carried out by a system comprising a platformleveling assembly (PLA) and a handheld mobile device, the PLA includinga PLA controller and a PLA receiver, the handheld mobile deviceincluding a tilt sensor, a mobile device controller, a transmitter, aninput device, and an output device. The method includes the steps of:determining an attitude of the selected surface by, through use of thetilt sensor, obtaining an attitude of the handheld mobile device whenplaced on a selected surface; providing an indication at the outputdevice, wherein the indication indicates the attitude of the selectedsurface on which the handheld mobile device is placed; receiving aleveling device instruction from a user at the input device; generatinga leveling device instruction signal indicating the leveling deviceinstruction using the mobile device controller; sending the levelingdevice instruction signal to the PLA controller using the transmitterand the PLA receiver; and causing at least one leveling device tooperate pursuant to the leveling device instruction as indicated by theleveling device instruction signal.

There is also provided a method of leveling a selected surface of astructure. The method includes the steps of: receiving an indication ofan attitude of a selected surface of a structure by placing a handheldmobile device on the selected surface and viewing a graphical attituderepresentation displayed on the handheld mobile device, the graphicalattitude representation indicating the attitude of the selected surfaceof the structure as measured by a tilt sensor of the handheld mobiledevice; and leveling the selected surface by causing a mobile devicecontroller of the handheld mobile device to generate and send a levelingdevice instruction signal to a platform leveling assembly (PLA)controller of a PLA carried by the structure, which causes the PLAcontroller to command at least one leveling device carried by thestructure to move the structure into an attitude in which the selectedsurface is level.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments will be described in conjunction with theappended drawings, in which like designations denote like elements, andin which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a structure and a system forleveling a selected surface of the structure according to a firstembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system for leveling a selectedsurface of a structure according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system for leveling a selectedsurface of a structure according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of leveling a selectedsurface of a structure according to a first implementation;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a manual leveling device commandscreen of a graphical user interface that may be provided by thehandheld mobile device;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of leveling a selectedsurface of a structure according to a second implementation;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of leveling a selectedsurface of a structure according to a third implementation;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of leveling a selectedsurface of a structure according to a fourth implementation;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic levelingscreen of a graphical user interface that may be provided by thehandheld mobile device;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of an automaticleveling screen of a graphical user interface that may be provided bythe handheld mobile device; and

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing yet another embodiment of anautomatic leveling screen of a graphical user interface that may beprovided by the handheld mobile device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There is provided a system and method for leveling a selected surface ofa structure, such as for leveling a selected surface of a recreationalvehicle (RV) or other vehicle. The system and method provided hereinimproves upon conventional platform leveling systems by using a tiltsensor that is a part of a handheld mobile device (e.g., smartphone) forpurposes of leveling the selected surface of the structure. The handheldmobile device can be placed onto a selected surface, and the tilt sensorof the handheld mobile device can be used to determine whether thehandheld mobile device is level (i.e., level relative to true earthlevel) thereby indicating whether the selected surface is level. Thehandheld mobile device can also include an input device that allows auser to provide one or more input commands or instructions that are thensent to the platform leveling assembly (PLA). The PLA may then generateone or more leveling device commands that cause one or more levelingdevices (e.g., electronically-controlled jack(s)) to be operatedaccording to the input provided by the user. The handheld mobile devicecan also include an output device that provides an indication of anattitude (relative to true earth level) of the handheld mobile device(and also the selected surface on which the handheld mobile device isplaced) as measured by the tilt sensor of the handheld mobile device.This output device can be used to provide feedback to the user as towhether the selected surface is level, such as by digitally displaying avirtual bubble level; in such embodiments, for example, the user canthen use the input device to provide manual leveling device instructionsthat are then communicated to the PLA, which then causes the levelingdevice(s) to be operated so as to adjust the attitude of the selectedsurface. This simplifies use of the system as the user need not carryaround a physical bubble level, but can simply use the handheld mobiledevice, which can be, for example, the user's smartphone.

The handheld mobile device may be used to receive a zero-point setcommand from a user and then to send a corresponding zero-point setcommand signal to the PLA. In response to receiving the zero-point setcommand signal, the PLA stores an attitude reference value. The attitudereference value may be based on the attitude of the selected surface asmeasured by the tilt sensor of the handheld mobile device and/or theattitude of the structure that carries the PLA as measured by a PLA tiltsensor that is a part of the PLA. The PLA may be configured such that,when an automatic leveling device instruction is received from a user,the PLA causes the one or more leveling devices to operate until theselected surface is level—which may be indicated by the attitudereference value equaling or otherwise corresponding to an attitude ofthe PLA as measured by the PLA tilt sensor.

With reference to FIGS. 1-2, there is shown an embodiment of a system 10for leveling a selected surface s of a structure S. The system 10includes a platform leveling apparatus (PLA) 12 used to operate one ormore leveling devices 14 carried by the structure S, and a handheldmobile device (e.g., smartphone) 16 that may be used to sendinstructions or other information to the PLA 12. To level a selectedsurface s of a structure S, the PLA 12 may first be installed in thestructure S and connected to the leveling devices 14, and then, as shownin FIG. 1, the handheld mobile device 16 may be placed on a selectedsurface s such as a kitchen countertop of a recreational vehicle RV. Theuser can then use the system 10 and method discussed below to level theselected surface s by causing the PLA to command the leveling devices 14to move the structure S into an attitude where the selected surface s islevel relative to true earth level or parallel to (or coplanar with) aplane that is perpendicular to earth's gravity g.

As shown in FIG. 2, the PLA 12 may include a PLA controller 18 and a PLAreceiver 20 that may be configured to receive electronic data from thehandheld mobile device 16. The handheld mobile device 16 may include amobile device controller 22, a transmitter 24, an input/output (I/O)device 26, and a tilt sensor 28 that is used to obtain a tilt of thehandheld mobile device 16 relative to true earth level. The handheldmobile device 16 may be configured to transmit information using thetransmitter 24 to the PLA 12, which may receive the transmittedinformation using the PLA receiver 20. The PLA controller 18 of the PLA12 may be configured to obtain the received information from the PLAreceiver 20, which may be used to adjust the attitude of the structure Sthrough actuating the one or more leveling devices 14.

The one or more leveling devices 14 are illustrated and described hereinas being a plurality of electronically-controlled jack, but otherleveling devices for leveling the structure S can be used. As shown inthe illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2, four jacks 14 a-d may be locatedat the corners of the structure 5; however, according to otherembodiments, a different number, arrangement, and/or configuration ofleveling devices can be used. In the illustrated embodiment, the fourjacks 14 a-d include a left-front jack 14 a, a right-front jack 14 b, aleft-rear jack 14 c, and a right-rear jack 14 d.

Each jack 14 a-d may be electronically operable and controlled by thePLA controller 18 through sending leveling device commands to each ofthe jacks 14 a-d. Each jack 14 a-d can be any device that can extend orretract a piston or arm through use of, for example, pneumatic,hydraulic, and/or electric power. Each jack 14 a-d may include aposition sensor and a direct current motor. The position sensors can belocated and configured to sense the positions of jack piston or otherjack component to determine the amount of jack extension in respectivejacks 14 a-d. The DC motors of each of the jacks 14 a-d can be used toactuate their respective jacks between respective fully retracted andfully extended positions. The jacks 14 a-d may be configured to eachreceive respective extension commands that command the jacks 14 a-d touse their respective DC motors to extend the jacks 14 a-d. Likewise, thejacks 14 a-d may be configured to each receive respective retractioncommands that command the jacks to use their respective DC motors toretract the jacks.

The PLA controller 18 may include a processor 30 and memory 32 forstoring computer instructions in the form of PLA application 34. As usedherein, the term “computer instructions” may include any instructionsthat are readable or executable by an electronic computer or processor,which may include, for example, control logic, computer software and/orfirmware, programmable instructions, or other suitable instructions. ThePLA controller 18 may be configured so that, when the PLA application 34is executed using the processor 30, the PLA controller 18 carries outone or more steps of the method described below. The PLA controller 18may be communicatively coupled to the PLA receiver 20 such that the PLAcontroller 18 is able to receive data that was transmitted as wirelesssignals and received at the PLA receiver 20. The PLA controller 18 maybe communicatively coupled to the jacks 14 a-d so as to controlactuation and/or operation of the jacks 14 a-d. The PLA controller 18may be configured to change the attitude of the structure S in responseto receiving leveling device instructions from a user of the PLA 12 orthe handheld mobile device 16. The leveling device instructions can bemanual leveling device instructions or automatic leveling deviceinstructions. A manual leveling device instruction specifies one or moreleveling devices to be operated and an automatic leveling deviceinstruction indicates that an automatic leveling process that levels thestructure according to a zero-point or other predefined reference valueis to be carried out.

The PLA receiver 20 may be any suitable hardware that is able to receivesignals transmitted by the transmitter and may be a wireless receiverthat may be configured to receive electromagnetic signals used forwireless communication, such as short-range wireless communications(SRWCs) and/or long-range wireless communications (LRWCs) (e.g.,cellular communications). The PLA receiver 20 may include an antenna(not shown) and receiver circuitry that may be used to receive wirelesssignals and process the received wireless signals. The PLA receiver 20may be embodied as a transceiver that may be used to transmit andreceive wireless signals and, the PLA receiver 20 may be part of awireless communications module that may be configured to carry out SRWCsand/or LRWCs. The PLA 12 may establish with the handheld mobile device16 an SRWC connection that can be established using any of a variety ofSRWC technologies, including, for example, Wi-Fi™, Bluetooth™, otherIEEE 802.11 protocols, ZigBee™, Z-Wave™, etc.

The handheld mobile device 16 may be a modern, personal mobile device,such as a smartphone (e.g., Samsung Galaxy S10™, iPhone™, Google Pixel™)or a tablet (e.g., iPad™). The mobile device controller 22 of thehandheld mobile device 16 may include a processor 36 and memory 38storing computer instructions in the form of a mobile application 40.The mobile device controller 22 may be configured so that, when themobile application 40 may be executed using the processor 36, the mobiledevice controller 22 carries out one or more steps of any one or moreimplementations of the method described below. The mobile devicecontroller 22 may be communicatively coupled to the transmitter 24 suchthat the mobile device controller 22 is able to direct or cause thetransmitter 24 to transmit data in the form of wireless signals. Themobile device controller 22 may be communicatively coupled to the tiltsensor 28 such that the mobile device controller 22 receives tilt sensorinformation from the tilt sensor 28, which may represent or be used togenerate an attitude of the handheld mobile device.

The mobile device controller 22 may be communicatively coupled to theinput device 28 so as to receive information or data indicating inputreceived at the input device 28. In the illustrated embodiment, themobile device controller 22 may be communicatively coupled to thetransmitter 24, the tilt sensor 28, and the input device 28 via a wiredconnection, which can be in the form of a controller area network (CAN),a local interconnect network (LIN) bus, Ethernet connection, and/orother hardwired connection. However, in other embodiments, the mobiledevice controller 22 may be communicatively coupled to the transmitter24, the tilt sensor 28, and/or the input device 28 via a wirelessconnection, such as through use of SRWCs (e.g., Wi-Fi™ Bluetooth™).

***The mobile application 40 may include computer instructions that,when executed by the processor 36, cause and/or enable the handheldmobile device 16 to perform one or more of the following: (i)communicate with the PLA 12 via a wireless connection through use of thetransmitter 24 and the PLA receiver 20 of the PLA 12; (ii) determine anattitude of the handheld mobile device 16 relative to true earth levelthrough use of the tilt sensor 28; (iii) transmit attitude information,including the determined attitude, to the PLA 12; (iv) automaticallyprogram the zero-point of the PLA 12 using the attitude of the handheldmobile device 16 as a zero point; and/or (v) provide a mobile userinterface to the user so that the user is able to use the mobile userinterface to command and augment leveling operations, which may bemanual or automatic. The mobile application 40 may be downloadable froma mobile app distribution platform, such as Google Play™, App Store(iOS™), Microsoft™ Store, and/or Samsung Galaxy™ Apps.

The mobile application 40 may include computer instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor 36, cause and/or enable the handheld mobiledevice 16 to display a graphical user interface (GUI) that: (i) displaysa virtual bubble level (or other graphic(s)) that provides a graphicaldisplay of readings taken by the tilt sensor 28 such that the graphicaldisplay indicates the attitude of the handheld mobile device 16 relativeto true earth level or a programmed zero-point; (ii) displays a virtualbubble level (or other graphic(s)) that indicates the attitude of thePLA 12 relative to true earth level or a programmed zero-point; (iii)displays a virtual bubble level (or other graphic(s)) that indicates theattitude of the PLA 12 relative to the attitude of the handheld mobiledevice 16; (iv) allows a user to command and/or augment levelingoperations; (v) allows a user to manually control leveling operations ofthe PLA 12 while displaying the virtual bubble level that providesvisual feedback of the manual leveling operations in real-time; and/or(vi) allows a user to initiate and/or control manual and/or automaticleveling operations of the PLA 12 while displaying the virtual bubblelevel that provides visual feedback of the leveling operations inreal-time.

The transmitter 24 may be any suitable hardware that is able to transmitelectronic data to the PLA receiver 20 of the PLA 12 and may be awireless transmitter that may be configured to transmit electromagneticsignals used for wireless communication, such as SRWCs and/or LRWCs(e.g., cellular communications). The transmitter 24 may include anantenna (not shown) and transmitter circuitry that may be used totransmit wireless signals. The transmitter 24 may be embodied as atransceiver that is used to transmit and receive wireless signals andThe transmitter 24 may be part of a wireless communications module thatmay be configured to carry out SRWCs and/or LRWCs. The handheld mobiledevice 16 establishes a SRWC connection with the PLA 12. The SRWCconnection can be established using any of a variety of SRWCtechnologies, including, for example, Wi-Fi™, Bluetooth™, other IEEE802.11 protocols, ZigBee™, Z-Wave™, etc.

The input/output (I/O) device 26 may be a human-machine interface (HMI)that enables a user to provide input into the handheld mobile device 16and receive output from the handheld mobile device 16. The I/O device 26may be a device that may include both input and output functionality,such as a touchscreen display, and constitutes both an input device andan output device. However, it should be appreciated that separatedevices may be used for providing input into the handheld mobile device16 and receiving output from the handheld mobile device 16. For example,the input device could be a pushbutton that is pressable by a user, anelectronic touchscreen display that detects a user's touch, or amicrophone that receives audio data from a user. And, for example, theoutput device could be an electronic display, an audio speaker, avibrator, or a light (e.g., LED).

The I/O device 26 may be used to receive a zero-point set command from auser, which may be then used by the mobile device controller 22 (orother controller of the system) to generate a corresponding zero-pointset command signal for the selected surface on which the handheld mobiledevice 16 is placed. The zero-point set command may be a command thatindicates the current attitude or tilt of the device is to be used as azero-point. That may be, for example, when a zero-point set command isreceived at the I/O device 26 from a user, the attitude of the handheldmobile device as indicated by one or more tilt angles is used as areference for leveling the structure. For example, when the handheldmobile device 16 is placed on the selected surface s and then a userprovides a zero-point set command, the tilt sensor 28 measures anattitude of the handheld mobile device 16 and this attitude may be laterused to adjust the structure S so that the selected surface s isleveled.

The handheld mobile device 16 may include an output device that providesinformation to the user. The output device can be an audio speaker thatoutputs sounds to provide indications to the user, such as to indicatethat an automatic leveling process is being performed. The output devicemay be used as a part of providing a visual or graphical user interfacethat enables a user to view information available at the handheld mobiledevice 16, such as the current attitude or tilt of the handheld mobiledevice 16 relative to true earth level (or a programmed/storedzero-point). For example, the mobile device controller 22 may beconfigured to cause an electronic display to display a virtual bubblelevel that may include a graphic indicating the present attituderelative to a zero-point, such as true earth level or aprogrammed/stored reference plane. In the illustrated embodiment, theinput device and the output device are incorporated into a single device(i.e., the I/O device 26), which may be an electronic touchscreendisplay that enables a user to input information by touching the screenof the display and to view output that may be displayed on the screen.Although the handheld mobile device 16 is discussed as including asingle input device and a single output device, in other embodiments,the handheld mobile device 16 can include a plurality of input devicesand/or a plurality of output devices.

The tilt sensor 28 measures an attitude of the handheld mobile device 16relative to gravity or true earth level, and can be any suitable type oftilt sensor, such as an accelerometer. The attitude may be obtained atthe mobile device controller 22 then sent to the PLA 12 via thetransmitter 24. The attitude of the handheld mobile device 16 may bedetermined or defined by one or more tilt angles and may include or begenerated based on a plurality of tilt angles. For example, theplurality of tilt angles can include tilt angles received from one ormore tilt sensors including the tilt sensor 28. The tilt sensor 28 maybe a multi-axis tilt sensor that is used to measure multiple tiltangles, which may be used as a part of determining/obtaining theattitude of the handheld mobile device 16. In other embodiments, thetilt sensor 28 may be a single-axis tilt sensor. Although the system 10is described as including a single tilt sensor, it should be appreciatedthat the system 10 may include one or more additional tilt sensors andthe additional tilt sensor(s) may be used to obtain sensor informationthat is a part of or used to generate the attitude of the handheldmobile device 16.

The mobile device controller 22 can send a command to the tilt sensor 28that instructs the tilt sensor 28 to measure the tilt angle (orattitude) and to send the tilt angle (or attitude) back to the mobiledevice controller 22. The tilt sensor 28 may automatically takemeasurements periodically or in response to receiving instructions to doso from another device of the handheld mobile device 16.

With reference now to FIG. 3, there is shown another embodiment of asystem 10′ having the handheld mobile device 16 and a PLA 12′ that mayinclude the same components of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, butfurther may include a PLA tilt sensor 42. The PLA tilt sensor 42 may beintegrated into the PLA 12′, is supported on the structure S, and isused to obtain an attitude of the structure S. The discussion of thetilt sensor 28 of the handheld mobile device 16 applies to the PLA tiltsensor 42, except that that PLA tilt sensor 42 may be a part of the PLA12′ and not the handheld mobile device 16. Thus, the system 10′ mayinclude a tilt sensor integrated into both the handheld mobile device 16and the PLA 12′.

With reference to FIG. 4, there is shown an embodiment of a method 100for leveling a selected surface of a structure and, in particular, formanually controlling a leveling device of a platform leveling apparatususing a handheld mobile device. The method 100 is described below withreference to the system 10 above; however, it should be appreciated thatthe method 100 can be used with various other systems. Although thesteps of the method 100 are described as being carried out in aparticular order, it is hereby contemplated that the steps of the method100 may be carried out in any technically feasible order, such as byhaving step 120 being carried out before step 110.

The method 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 5, which depictsa graphical user interface (GUI) 200 that may be used as a part of themethod 100. The GUI 200 may be provided by the mobile application 40,and may be presented on an electronic touchscreen of the handheld mobiledevice 16, which may be a part of the I/O device 26. FIG. 5 shows amanual leveling device command screen 202 that may be used by a user tomanually control one or more jacks (or other leveling devices) 14 a-d.The manual leveling device command screen 202 may include a virtualbubble level 204 that may be used to indicate an attitude of thehandheld mobile device 16 relative to true earth level. In particular,the virtual bubble level 204 may include a virtual bubble graphic 206 inthe form of a circle that indicates the present attitude of the handheldmobile device 16 relative to true earth level. The virtual bubble level204 may include a background graphic 208 outlining the shape of thevehicle (or other structure) on which the PLA 12 is installed andproviding context to the virtual bubble level graphic 206 in that thecenter-most concentric circle of the background graphic 208 indicatestrue earth level or a stored zero-point. This vehicle-shaped backgroundgraphic 208 may be used to orient the user with respect to the vehicle.However, in other embodiments, the background graphic 208 may be shapeddifferently, such as circularly-shaped.

The GUI 200 also indicates a position at which the four jacks 14 a-d arelocated by depicting a leveling device graphic 214 a-d for each of thejacks 14 a-d. For example, the left-front jack 14 a of the PLA 12 isindicated by a first leveling device graphic 214 a. The leveling devicegraphics 214 a-d each indicate a status of the corresponding levelingdevice 14 a-d, such as whether the leveling device is unable to beextended or retracted, whether the leveling device is currently beingextended or retracted, etc. These indications may be provided, forexample, by dynamically rendering the leveling device graphic 214 a-dwith a particular color. Additionally or alternatively, other visualeffects can be used to provide such indications. The GUI 200 further mayinclude a set of manual command graphics 224 a-d that may be used by theuser for providing manual leveling device instructions to the handheldmobile device 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the GUI 200 may includea manual command graphic 224 a-d for each of the jacks 14 a-d. Each ofthe manual command graphics 224 a-d may include an up arrow and a downarrow that allows the user to command the corresponding leveling device14 a-d to extend (up arrow) or retract (down arrow).

The GUI 200 also may include a multi-leveling device manual commandgraphic 226 that allows the user to provide a manual leveling deviceinstruction that causes a plurality of jacks (or leveling devices) 14a-d to be operated together. In the illustrated embodiment, themulti-leveling device manual command graphic 226 may include an up arrowand a down arrow that enables the user to control a pair of levelingdevices together. For example, when the user presses the up arrow of themulti-leveling device manual command graphic 226, the left-front jack 14a and the right-front jack 14 b (i.e., the front-pair of levelingdevices) may be extended so as to raise the front end of the vehicle (orstructure).

The method 100 begins with step 110, wherein a user places a handheldmobile device on a selected surface that is to be leveled. For example,as shown in FIG. 1, the handheld mobile device 16 is placed on theselected surface s by the user. The method 100 continues to step 120.

In step 120, the handheld mobile device displays a virtual bubble level.As discussed above, the handheld mobile device 16 may include the mobileapplication 40, which may be used to display a virtual bubble level,such as the virtual bubble level 204 that is a part of the manualleveling device command screen 202 of the GUI 200. The method 100continues to step 130.

In step 130, a manual leveling device instruction may be received from auser via an input device of the handheld mobile device. A manualleveling device instruction is an instruction to actuate or otherwiseoperate a leveling device in a particular manner as specified by a user.For example, the manual leveling device instruction may be aninstruction to retract the left-front jack 14 a, or may be aninstruction to raise the right side of the structure S, which caninclude, for example, extending the right-front jack 14 b and theright-rear jack 14 d. The GUI 200 may be used to receive the manualleveling device instruction from the user via the touchscreen display ofthe handheld mobile device 16 on which the GUI 200 is displayed. Forexample, the user may press the down arrow of the first manual commandgraphic 224 a, which causes a manual leveling device instruction to begenerated for retracting the left-front jack 14 a. The method 100continues to step 140.

In step 140, the manual leveling device instruction is sent from thehandheld mobile device to a PLA. The handheld mobile device 16 sends themanual leveling device instruction as a manual leveling deviceinstruction signal using the transmitter 24 and the manual levelingdevice instruction is then received at the PLA receiver 20 of the PLA12. The manual leveling device instruction signal is sent over a SRWCconnection between the handheld mobile device 16 and the PLA 12, such asover a Wi-Fi™ or Bluetooth™ connection. The manual leveling deviceinstruction signal is sent from the handheld mobile device 16 to the PLA12 using cellular communications or other LRWCs. The method 100continues to step 150.

In step 150, the PLA carries out a leveling operation according to thereceived manual leveling device instruction. The PLA 12 receives themanual leveling device instruction signal, which indicates the manualleveling device instruction, from the handheld wireless device 16 (as aresult of step 140) and then causes the leveling operation to be carriedout according to the manual leveling device instruction. For example,The manual leveling device instruction specifies extending theright-front jack 14 b and, thus, the PLA 12, through use of theprocessor 30 (for example), determines one or more leveling devicecommands to send to the right-front jack 14 b so as to extend theright-front jack 14 b. The method 100 then ends.

With reference to FIG. 6, there is shown an embodiment of a method 300of leveling a selected surface of a structure. The method 300 isdescribed below with reference to the system 10′ above; however, itshould be appreciated that the method 300 can be used with various othersystems. Although the steps of the method 300 are described as beingcarried out in a particular order, it is hereby contemplated that thesteps of the method 300 may be carried out in any technically feasibleorder.

The method 300 begins with step 310, wherein a user places a handheldmobile device on a selected surface that is to be leveled. For example,as shown in FIG. 1, the handheld mobile device 16 may be placed on theselected surface s by the user. The method 300 continues to step 320.

In step 320, the handheld mobile device displays a virtual bubble level.As discussed above, the handheld mobile device 16 may include the mobileapplication 40 that, at least in some embodiments, can be used todisplay a virtual bubble level, such as the virtual bubble level 204(FIG. 5), 604 (FIG. 9), 604′ (FIG. 10), or 604″ (FIG. 11). The method300 continues to step 330.

In step 330, a zero-point set command is received from a user via aninput device of the handheld mobile device and the handheld mobiledevice then generates a zero-point set command signal. For example, oncethe user places the handheld mobile device 16 on the selected surface s,the user can then select a “SET ZERO-POINT” graphic from a GUI, such asthe GUI 200, indicating to use the present attitude as measured by thetilt sensor 28 (and/or other tilt sensor(s) of the handheld mobiledevice 16) as the zero-point, which, as discussed below, is used toadjust the structure S so that the selected surface s is leveled. Thehandheld mobile device 16 generates the zero-point set command signal inresponse to receiving the zero-point set command from the user. Themethod 300 continues to step 340.

In step 340, the zero-point set command signal is sent from the handheldmobile device to the PLA. The zero-point set command signal is sent fromthe transmitter 24 of the handheld mobile device 16 and received at thePLA receiver 20 of the PLA 12 via SRWCs or LRWCs. The method 300continues to step 350.

In step 350, in response to receiving the zero-point set command signal,the PLA obtains a PLA attitude reference value that indicates theattitude or tilt of the structure S relative to the attitude or tilt asmeasured at the handheld mobile device. The PLA attitude reference valuemay be based on the attitude (or one or more tilt angles) measured usingtilt sensor(s) at the PLA, such as the PLA tilt sensor 42, at the timethe zero-point set command signal is received. In response to and at thetime of receiving the zero-point set command signal, the PLA tilt sensor42 may measure one or more tilt angles (used to represent an attitude)and the measured tilt angles (or attitude) may be used to generate orotherwise obtain the PLA attitude reference value. The method 300continues to step 360.

In step 360, an automatic leveling device instruction is received from auser via an input device of the handheld mobile device and the handheldmobile device then generates an automatic leveling device instructionsignal. For example, once the user places the handheld mobile device 16on the selected surfaces, the user can then select a “LEVEL SURFACE”graphic from a GUI, which indicates that an automatic leveling processis to be carried out so as to level the selected surface s on which thehandheld mobile device was placed. The handheld mobile device 16generates an automatic leveling device instruction signal in response toreceiving the automatic leveling device instruction from the user. Themethod 300 continues to step 370.

In step 370, the PLA levels the structure so that the selected surfaceis leveled by commanding movement of the structure so that (or until)the attitude or tilt of the structure as measured by the tilt sensor ofthe PLA equals (or otherwise corresponds to) the PLA attitude referencevalue. As discussed above, the PLA attitude reference value may be basedon the attitude or tilt as measured at the PLA at the time thezero-point set command signal is received. For example, the PLA attitudereference value may be the attitude or tilt as measured at the PLA afterthe user manually leveled the selected surface s, such as through themethod 100. Thus, in such an example, causing the leveling device(s) tooperate until the attitude or tilt as measured at the PLA tilt sensor 42of the PLA ′12 equals the PLA attitude reference value results inleveling the selected surfaces on which the handheld mobile device 16was placed (step 310). The method 300 then ends.

The method 100 and 300 may be used together by a user to manually adjustthe attitude of the structure S by using the GUI 200 (method 100) andthen, once the selected surface s is suitably level (i.e., the user issatisfied with the attitude), the user can use the GUI 200 to set azero-point of the structure S (method 300). At a later time, such asafter the user has moved the vehicle or otherwiserepositioned/reoriented the structure S, the user provides an automaticleveling device instruction (step 360) and then the PLA 12′ actuates thejacks 14 a-d so that the stored reference value (see step 350) equals(or corresponds to) the measured attitude being received by the PLA tiltsensor 42 of the PLA 12′ thereby leveling the selected surface s.

With reference to FIG. 7, there is shown an embodiment of a method 400of leveling a selected surface of a structure. The method 400 isdescribed below with reference to the system 10′ above; however, itshould be appreciated that the method 400 can be used with various othersystems. Although the steps of the method 400 are described as beingcarried out in a particular order, it is hereby contemplated that thesteps of the method 400 may be carried out in any technically feasibleorder.

The method 400 begins with step 410, wherein a user places a handheldmobile device on a selected surface that is to be leveled. For example,as shown in FIG. 1, the handheld mobile device 16 may be placed on theselected surface s by the user. The method 400 continues to step 420.

In step 420, a zero-point set command is received from a user via aninput device of the handheld mobile device and the handheld mobiledevice then generates a zero-point set command signal. This step is thesame as step 330 of the method 300 (FIG. 6) and that discussion isincorporated herein. The method 400 then continues to step 430.

In step 430, an attitude of the handheld mobile device is obtained usinga tilt sensor of the handheld mobile device. The attitude of thehandheld mobile device 16 may be obtained based on one or more tiltangles that are measured by the tilt sensor 28 in response to receivingthe zero-point set command. Additionally, or alternatively, the attitudeof the handheld mobile device 16 may be obtained based on one or moretitle angles that were most-recently measured by the tilt sensor 28. Theone or more tilt angles and/or the attitude may be stored at memory 38of the handheld mobile device 16. The method 400 continues to step 440.

In step 440, the zero-point set command signal and the attitude of thehandheld mobile device are sent from the handheld mobile device to thePLA. The zero-point set command signal and the attitude of the handheldmobile device are sent from the transmitter 24 of the handheld mobiledevice 16 and received at the PLA receiver 20 of the PLA 12 via SRWCs orLRWCs. The zero-point set command signal and the attitude of thehandheld mobile device are sent together in a single message; however,in other embodiments, the zero-point set command signal and the attitudeof the handheld mobile device are sent in different messages. The method400 continues to step 450.

In step 450, a mobile attitude reference value corresponding to theattitude received from the handheld mobile device is stored. The mobileattitude reference value may include one or more tilt angles used as apart of obtaining the attitude received from the handheld mobile device16. The mobile attitude reference value may be stored in memory 32 ofthe PLA controller 18 or other suitable memory. The method 400 continuesto step 460.

In step 460, an automatic leveling device instruction is received from auser via an input device of the handheld mobile device and the handheldmobile device then generates an automatic leveling device instructionsignal. For example, the user can then select a “LEVEL SURFACE” graphicfrom a GUI, which indicates that an automatic leveling process is to becarried out so as to level the selected surface s according to thezero-point that is represented by the stored mobile attitude referencevalue. The handheld mobile device 16 generates the automatic levelingdevice instruction signal in response to receiving the automaticleveling device instruction from the user and, then, the handheld mobiledevice 16 sends the automatic leveling device instruction signal to thePLA 12′. The method 400 continues to step 470.

In step 470, the PLA levels the structure so that the selected surfaceis leveled by commanding movement of the structure so that (or until)the attitude or tilt of the structure as measured by the tilt sensor ofthe PLA equals the mobile attitude reference value. As discussed above,the mobile attitude reference value may be based on the attitude or tiltas measured at the handheld mobile device. The mobile attitude referencevalue may, for example, be the attitude or tilt as measured at thehandheld mobile device 16 and so moving of the leveling device(s) untilthe attitude or tilt as measured at the PLA tilt sensor 42 of the PLA′12 equals the mobile attitude reference value results in leveling theselected surface s on which the handheld mobile device 16 was placed(step 310) when the zero-point set command was received from the user.The method 400 then ends.

The method 400 may be used to store a mobile attitude reference value inresponse to receiving a zero-point set command from the user (steps410-450). Then, at a later time, such as after the vehicle has beenmoved or the structure S has otherwise been repositioned/reoriented, theuser can provide an automatic leveling device instruction that thencauses the PLA 12′ to actuate the jacks 14 a-d until the attitude of thePLA 12′ (as presently obtained based on tilt angle(s) being measuredfrom the PLA tilt sensor 42 (and/or other tilt sensor(s))) equals themobile attitude reference value. Thus, the method 400 can be used to seta zero-point for the selected surface s and to automatically level theselected surface s.

The method 400 may be used to store an attitude reference value that maybe based on both an attitude (or one or more tilt angles) as measured bythe tilt sensor 28 and an attitude (or one or more tilt angles) asmeasured by the PLA tilt sensor 42. For example, the attitude referencevalue may be based on a difference between a tilt angle of the attitudeof the selected surface as obtained by the tilt sensor 26 of thehandheld mobile device 16 and a tilt angle of the attitude of thestructure as obtained by the PLA tilt sensor 42. The attitude of theselected surface as obtained by the tilt sensor 26 of the handheldmobile device 16 may not be level when the attitude reference value isreceived. However, since the attitude reference value is based on boththe attitude of the selected surface and the attitude of the PLA 12′,causing the jacks 14 a-d to move so that the attitude as measured by thePLA tilt sensor 42 equals (or corresponds to) the stored attitudereference value results in the selected surface s being leveled.

With reference to FIG. 8, there is shown an embodiment of a method 500of leveling a selected surface of a structure. The method 500 isdescribed below with reference to the system 10 above; however, itshould be appreciated that the method 500 can be used with various othersystems. Although the steps of the method 500 are described as beingcarried out in a particular order, it is hereby contemplated that thesteps of the method 500 may be carried out in any technically feasibleorder.

The method 500 begins with step 510, wherein a user places a handheldmobile device on a selected surface that is to be leveled. For example,as shown in FIG. 1, the handheld mobile device 16 may be placed on theselected surface s by the user. The method 500 continues to step 520.

In step 520, an automatic leveling device instruction is received from auser via an input device of the handheld mobile device and the handheldmobile device then generates an automatic leveling device instructionsignal. For example, once the user places the handheld mobile device 16on the selected surfaces, the user can then select a “LEVEL SURFACE”graphic from a GUI, which indicates that an automatic leveling processis to be carried out so as to level the selected surface s on which thehandheld mobile device was placed. The handheld mobile device 16generates the automatic leveling device instruction signal in responseto receiving the automatic leveling device instruction from the user.The method 500 continues to step 530.

In step 530, an initial attitude of the handheld mobile device isobtained using a tilt sensor of the handheld mobile device. The initialattitude of the handheld mobile device 16 is obtained based on one ormore tilt angles that are measured by the tilt sensor 28 in response toreceiving the automatic leveling device instruction. The one or moretilt angles may be stored at memory 38 of the handheld mobile device 16.The method 500 continues to step 540.

In step 540, the initial attitude of the handheld mobile device is sentfrom the handheld mobile device to the PLA. The initial attitude of thehandheld mobile device is sent from the transmitter 24 of the handheldmobile device 16 and received at the PLA receiver 20 of the PLA 12 viaSRWCs or LRWCs. The method 500 continues to step 550.

In step 550, a leveling device command is generated based on theattitude of the handheld mobile device. The leveling device command is acommand or instruction that is sent to a leveling device and that causesthe leveling device to move in a specified manner. The leveling devicecommand specifies a particular amount and direction of movement. As apart of a first iteration, this step uses the initial attitude of thehandheld mobile device that is received in step 540. In otheriterations, this step uses an updated attitude of the handheld mobiledevice as measured in step 570 after operating the leveling device(s) instep 560. According to at least one embodiment, in either the firstiteration or the other iterations, the most-recent attitude of thehandheld mobile device may be used for generating the leveling devicecommand. This step of generating the leveling device command may includeidentifying a leveling device and determining desired movement of theidentified leveling device. This step may be carried out by the PLAcontroller 18 of the PLA 12. The method 500 continues to step 560.

In step 560, a leveling device is operated according to the levelingdevice command. This step may include sending the leveling devicecommand to the leveling device, which then causes the leveling device tooperate according to the leveling device command. This step may includesending the leveling device command to the leveling device, receivingfeedback from the leveling device (or another device of the PLA 12), andthen generating another leveling device command that is then sent to theleveling device. For example, the leveling device command specifies adirection of movement that, when received at the leveling device, causesthe leveling device to move in the specified direction of movement.Then, the leveling device sends, to the PLA controller 18, an extensionvalue indicating how far the leveling device is extended and, based onthis extension value, the PLA controller 18 determines to continuemoving the leveling device in the specified direction of movement ordetermines an updated leveling device command that is then sent to theleveling device (or another leveling device). The method 500 continuesto step 570.

In step 570, a new attitude of the handheld mobile device is obtained.The new attitude of the handheld mobile device refers to an attitudethat is taken after a leveling operation has already been carried out asa part of leveling the selected surface. The new attitude of thehandheld mobile device 16 may be obtained from the tilt sensor 28 of thehandheld mobile device 16 and then sent to the PLA 12 from thetransmitter 24 to the PLA receiver 20 of the PLA 12. The method 500continues to step 580.

In step 580, it is determined whether the selected surface is level.This step may be carried out at the PLA 12, such as by the PLAcontroller 18. For example, the new attitude may be obtained at thehandheld mobile device 16 and then sent to the PLA 12, which can thendetermine whether the new attitude is level with respect to true earthlevel. This step may be carried out at the handheld mobile device 16 andthen, if it is determined that the selected surface is level, thehandheld mobile device 16 may inform the PLA 12 that the selectedsurface is level. In such embodiments, for example, if it is determinedthat the selected surface is not level, then the handheld mobile device16 sends the new attitude as obtained in step 570 to the PLA 12, such asby sending the new attitude from the transmitter 24 to the PLA receiver20 of the PLA 12. The selected surface is determined to be level whenthe new attitude indicates that the handheld mobile device 16 is levelwith respect to true earth level. This can be when a tilt angle of thenew attitude relative to true earth level is 0° or when the tilt angleof the new attitude is within a predetermined tolerance amount, such asless than 1° relative to true earth level. When it is determined thatthe selected surface is not level, the method 500 proceeds back to step550 wherein a new leveling device command is generated based on the newattitude. Steps 550-580 are thus carried out until it is determined thatthe selected surface is level. When it is determined that the selectedsurface is level, the method 500 ends.

Thus, according to at least one embodiment, the method 500 may be usedto automatically level the selected surface s through an iterativeprocess based on the attitude of the handheld mobile device 16. The PLA12 may note how certain leveling operations (e.g., extending theright-front jack 14 b) affect the attitude of the handheld mobile device16 by keeping track of the leveling operations and tracking the changein attitude of the handheld mobile device 16 from iteration toiteration. This information may then be used as a part of determiningdesired operation of the jack(s) so that leveling command(s) may begenerated accordingly and sent to the jack(s), which may be a part ofstep 550.

With reference to FIGS. 9-11, there are shown automatic leveling screens602,602′,602″ that may be used as a part of the GUI 200 or other GUI ofthe handheld mobile device 16. The automatic leveling screens602,602′,602″ each include a virtual bubble level 604,604′,604″ thateach include a virtual bubble graphic 606 and differing backgroundgraphics 608,608′,608″. The virtual bubble level 604 of the automaticleveling screen 602 may include a vehicle-shaped background graphic 608that is in the shape of the vehicle. In other embodiments, such as thosewhere the PLA 12′ may be used on a structure that is not a part of avehicle, the background graphic 608 may be shaped accordingly so as toprovide the user an indication of the orientation of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 10, the virtual bubble level 604′ of the automaticleveling screens 602′ may include a circular-shaped background graphic608′ that may include an upward facing arrow that indicates a particulardirection of the structure S, such as the front of the vehicle. As shownin FIG. 11, the virtual bubble level 604″ of the automatic levelingscreens 602″ may include background graphics 608″ that may include acircular background 612 and a vehicle-shaped background graphic 614 thatis shaped as a trailer, which may be the structure having a surface tobe leveled. Of course, other types of background graphics or othergraphics may be used as a part of the virtual bubble level 604,604′,604″according to various embodiments.

The orientation of the handheld mobile device 16 may be determinedrelative to the orientation of the structure S (or the PLA 12,12′). Forexample, in certain scenarios, it may be desirable to determine therelative orientation of the handheld mobile device 16 relative to thePLA 12 when taken in a plane that is perpendicular to the direction ofearth's gravity g. Thus, for example, this relative orientation may beused to transform an attitude measured by the tilt sensor 26 at a firstorientation (e.g., the orientation of the handheld mobile device 16) toan attitude corresponding to a second orientation, which may be theorientation of the PLA 12′, so that the attitude is understandable andusable at the PLA 12′ in conjunction with readings of the PLA 12′ astaken by the PLA tilt sensor 42 at the second orientation. In oneembodiment, a compass of the handheld mobile device 16 may be used todetermine the first orientation and a compass of the PLA 12′ may be usedto determine the second orientation.

Any one or more of the processors discussed herein (e.g., processor 30of the PLA controller 18, processor 36 of the mobile device controller22) may include, for example, one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, discrete logic circuits having logic gates forimplementing logic functions on data signals, application specificintegrated circuits with suitable logic gates, programmable or complexprogrammable logic devices, programmable or field programmable gatearrays, and/or any other suitable type of electronic processingdevice(s).

Any one or more of the memory discussed herein (e.g., memory 32 of thePLA controller 18, memory 38 of the mobile device controller 22) may bein the form of removable and/or non-removable, volatile memory and/ornon-volatile memory. Illustrative volatile memory may include, forexample, random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM(DRAM) including synchronous or asynchronous DRAM, and/or the like, forrunning software and data on the processor. By way of example, and notlimitation, the volatile memory may include an operating system,application programs, other memory modules, and data. Illustrativenon-volatile memory may include, for example, read only memory (ROM),erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmableROM (EEPROM), dynamic read/write memory like magnetic or optical disksor tapes, and static read/write memory like flash memory, for storingsoftware and data. Although not separately shown, the computer may alsoinclude other removable/non-removable volatile/non-volatile data storageor media. For example, the other media may include dynamic or staticexternal storage read/write device(s).

The methods or parts thereof can be implemented in a computer programproduct including instructions carried on a computer readable storagemedium for use by one or more processors of one or more computers toimplement one or more of the method steps. The computer program productmay include one or more software programs comprised of programinstructions in source code, object code, executable code or otherformats; one or more firmware programs; or hardware description language(HDL) files; and any program related data. The data may include datastructures, look-up tables, or data in any other suitable format. Theprogram instructions may include program modules, routines, programs,objects, components, and/or the like. The computer program product canbe executed on one computer or on multiple computers in communicationwith one another.

The program(s) can be embodied on non-transitory computer readablemedia, which can include one or more storage devices, articles ofmanufacture, or the like. Example non-transitory computer readable mediainclude computer system memory, e.g. RAM (random access memory), ROM(read only memory); semiconductor memory, e.g. EPROM (erasable,programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasable, programmable ROM),flash memory; magnetic or optical disks or tapes; and/or the like. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium may also includecomputer to computer connections, for example, via a network or anothercommunications connection (either wired, wireless, or a combinationthereof). Non-transitory computer readable media include all computerreadable media, with the sole exception of transitory propagatingsignals. Any combination(s) of the above examples is also includedwithin the scope of the computer-readable media. It is therefore to beunderstood that the method(s) can be at least partially performed by anyelectronic articles and/or devices capable of executing instructionscorresponding to one or more steps of the disclosed method(s).

This description, rather than describing limitations of an invention,only illustrates embodiments of the invention recited in the claims. Thelanguage of this description is therefore exclusively descriptive andnon-limiting.

Obviously, it's possible to modify this invention from what thedescription teaches. Within the scope of the claims, one may practicethe invention other than as described above.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for leveling a selected surface of astructure, the system comprising: a platform leveling assembly (PLA)supportable on a structure to be leveled, the PLA including: a PLAcontroller communicatively couplable with one or more leveling devicesand configured to send, to the leveling device(s), leveling devicecommands that, when received by the leveling device(s), cause theleveling device(s) to change the attitude of the structure; and a PLAreceiver communicatively coupled with the PLA controller and configuredto receive wireless signals carrying a leveling device instruction andto send the leveling device instruction to the PLA controller; and ahandheld mobile device including: a tilt sensor configured to sense anattitude of a selected surface on which the handheld mobile device isplaced; an output device configured to provide an indication to a user;an input device configured to receive input from the user; a transmitterconfigured to send wireless signals to the PLA receiver; a mobile devicecontroller communicatively coupled to the tilt sensor, the outputdevice, the input device, and the transmitter and configured to causethe output device to provide an indication of the sensed attitude of theselected surface; wherein the mobile device controller is furtherconfigured to receive the leveling device instruction from the user viathe input device and to cause the transmitter to wirelessly transmit aleveling device instruction signal having the leveling deviceinstruction to the PLA controller so that, when the PLA controllerreceives the leveling device instruction signal via the PLA receiver,the PLA controller causes the one or more leveling devices to operateaccording to the leveling device instruction.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the leveling device instruction is a manual leveling deviceinstruction that specifies at least one of the leveling device(s) tooperate.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the leveling deviceinstruction is an automatic leveling device instruction that instructsthe PLA to level the structure according to a stored zero-pointreference value.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the handheld mobiledevice is configured to receive a zero-point set command from the userand to send a corresponding zero-point set command signal to the PLAcontroller via the transmitter and the PLA receiver, and wherein the PLAcontroller is configured to store an attitude reference value inresponse to receiving the corresponding zero-point set command signal.5. The system of claim 4, wherein the PLA further includes a PLA tiltsensor supportable on the structure to be leveled and configured toobtain an attitude of the structure, and wherein the PLA controller isfurther configured so that, when the automatic leveling deviceinstruction is received from the user, the PLA controller causes the oneor more leveling device(s) to be operated so that the attitude of thestructure as measured by the PLA tilt sensor corresponds to the storedattitude reference value.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the attitudereference value is a PLA attitude reference value that is obtained atthe PLA controller based on the attitude of the structure as obtained bythe PLA tilt sensor.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the attitudereference value is a mobile attitude reference value that is obtainedbased on the attitude of the selected surface as obtained by the tiltsensor of the handheld mobile device.
 8. The system of claim 7, whereinthe PLA controller is configured to carry out an automatic levelingprocess in response to receiving the automatic leveling deviceinstruction from the user, and wherein the automatic leveling processincludes at least one iteration of: generating a leveling device commandbased on the attitude of the selected surface on which the handheldmobile device is placed as obtained by the tilt sensor of the handheldmobile device; operating at least one of the one or more levelingdevices according to the leveling device command; obtaining a newattitude of the selected surface on which the handheld mobile device isplaced from the tilt sensor of the handheld mobile device; anddetermining whether the new attitude of the selected surface on whichthe handheld mobile device is placed indicates that the selected surfaceis level.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the PLA controller isconfigured to carry out a second iteration of the automatic levelingprocess in response to, as a part of a first iteration of the automaticleveling process, determining that the new attitude of the selectedsurface on which the handheld mobile device is placed indicates that theselected surface is not level.
 10. The system of claim 5, wherein theattitude reference value is obtained based on the attitude of theselected surface as obtained by the tilt sensor of the handheld mobiledevice and on the attitude of the structure as obtained by the PLA tiltsensor.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the attitude reference valueis based on a difference between a tilt angle of the attitude of theselected surface as obtained by the tilt sensor of the handheld mobiledevice and a tilt angle of the attitude of the structure as obtained bythe PLA tilt sensor.
 13. The system of claim 5, wherein the system isconfigured to obtain a difference in a first orientation indicated bythe tilt sensor of the handheld mobile device and a second orientationindicated by the PLA tilt sensor of the PLA, and to adjust levelinginstructions based on the difference between the first orientation andthe second orientation.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the outputdevice is a display configured to visually present information to theuser, wherein the mobile device controller is configured to cause one ormore graphics to be presented on the display, and wherein the graphic(s)provide a visual indication of the sensed attitude of the selectedsurface.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the graphic(s) are part ofa virtual bubble level, and wherein the virtual bubble level providesthe visual indication of the attitude of the handheld mobile device. 16.The system of claim 1, wherein the output device is a vibrator, andwherein the mobile device controller is configured to provide theindication of the sensed attitude of the selected surface by vibratingwhen the selected surface is level.
 17. A method of leveling a selectedsurface of a structure, wherein the method is carried out by a systemcomprising a platform leveling assembly (PLA) and a handheld mobiledevice, the PLA including a PLA controller and a PLA receiver, thehandheld mobile device including a tilt sensor, a mobile devicecontroller, a transmitter, an input device, and an output device,wherein the method comprises the steps of: determining an attitude ofthe selected surface by, through use of the tilt sensor, obtaining anattitude of the handheld mobile device when placed on a selectedsurface; providing an indication at the output device, wherein theindication indicates the attitude of the selected surface on which thehandheld mobile device is placed; receiving a leveling deviceinstruction from a user at the input device; generating a levelingdevice instruction signal indicating the leveling device instructionusing the mobile device controller; sending the leveling deviceinstruction signal to the PLA controller using the transmitter and thePLA receiver; and causing at least one leveling device to operatepursuant to the leveling device instruction as indicated by the levelingdevice instruction signal.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein theoutput device is a display, and wherein the providing step includesdisplaying a virtual bubble level at the display of the handheld mobiledevice indicating the attitude of the selected surface on which thehandheld mobile device is placed.
 19. A method of leveling a selectedsurface of a structure, comprising the steps of: receiving an indicationof an attitude of a selected surface of a structure by placing ahandheld mobile device on the selected surface and viewing a graphicalattitude representation displayed on the handheld mobile device, thegraphical attitude representation indicating the attitude of theselected surface of the structure as measured by a tilt sensor of thehandheld mobile device; and leveling the selected surface by causing amobile device controller of the handheld mobile device to generate andsend a leveling device instruction signal to a platform levelingassembly (PLA) controller of a PLA carried by the structure, whichcauses the PLA controller to command at least one leveling devicecarried by the structure to move the structure into an attitude in whichthe selected surface is level.